A Word From the President

Gudrun Giddings

Back2Business

The Fall's first Business Mingle at Skybar

This Tuesday SACC-LA welcomed the fall with a Back2Business mingle at Skybar. 

The event was a success, many of our members brought their friends and colleagues and mingled with us and each other at beautiful Skybar in West Hollywood.

Thank you Skybar and all guests for making it a great night with mingle, networking, competitions and also enjoying our special made drink for the night, SACCESS!

Enjoy all the pictures on Facebook and on instagram!

Happy Labor Day!

The holiday which is celebrated on the first Monday in September

There is a lot of talk around Los Angeles that Labor Day is approaching - but what exactly is Labor Day?

Labor Day in the United States is a holiday celebrated on the first Monday of September. The celebration is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers, a lot like the International Workers’ Day, which is celebrated on May 1st. Labor Day was founded in the United States by the Knights of Labor in 1882, following the example of Canada, where it has been celebrated since 1872.

In the United States there are no longer any large socialist parties, and it is therefore often unions that organize demonstrations. In recent years, however, many unions, social movements and immigrant organizations resumed the tradition of large demonstrations on May 1st.

The holiday still remains though and Labor day has traditionally become a day of picnics, summer's last excursion or the last party before the school term starts. Many commercial sites, shops and attractions are closed all day, with the exception of a few stores and some specific restaurants. 

SACC-LA Wishes All of You a Great Labor Day!

SACC-LA has two new Marketing Managers!

PetroNella Edwarszon & Oscar Holm - Events

Oscar was born in Malmö, Sweden but also spent parts of his youth in Canada and the US. Growing up in several places enabled him to take part in different cultures and perspectives, resulting in a keen interest in learning from new experiences and meeting new people. This interest led him to graduate from senior high school in Pennsylvania, move to Stockholm to attend Stockholm School of Economics and finally now to Los Angeles and the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce.

During his time at Stockholm School of Economics, Oscar worked with HR and sales as well as project management in the retail sector. He was also an active member of the student association at SSE taking on leading roles in events management. These experiences allowed him to take part in and enjoy the responsibilities of a wide number of projects that taught the value of creativity, leadership and hard work.

Oscar hopes to use his knowledge from previous experiences as well as his passion for learning new things to further develop SACC-LA and what the chamber can offer, in terms of events, networking and marketing. With creativity and innovation in focus, Oscar is eager to work together with the other Marketing Managers to ensure a Fall filled with excitement.

You can reach him at: mkt.saccla@gmail.com, or +1 (310) 622-3616

PetroNella was born in Malmö, Sweden. During her younger years she competed as a professional swimmer and developed her love for meeting people and exploring new places and cultures. After high school she moved to London to work with events for the first time, and that lead to her moving to Stockholm to pursue a bachelor in Marketing Communications & IT. 

During her years as a student she also worked with social media marketing. With her interest in design and entrepreneurship she has her own small fashion label which is something she wants to further develop in the future. PetroNella also spent a semester in New York, studying business and doing an internship at a PR agency where she was involved in events and communication to strengthen their clients’ brands.

As the Marketing Manager, Event Management, PetroNella will be in charge of event planning. She is really excited to meet and help all the goal oriented members and expand SACC-LA’s young professional talent network with on-point events. During this fall she aims to create and hold a variety of events with the rest of the team that will be appreciated by members, sponsors and everyone involved and make the experience astonishing unforgettable.

You can reach her at: event.saccla@gmail.com, or call +1 (310) 622-3617

The Real "Welcome to Sweden"

Growing up in a Swedish-American Family

“Welcome to Sweden” is a new NBC cross cultural situation comedy about an American man named Bruce, who moves with his Swedish girlfriend Emma back to her native land. Much of the tv show pokes fun of Swedes, as well as Bruce and his fish out-of-water experiences that living in a foreign land presents. 

Having been raised with a mother from Sweden and an American dad, the show "Welcome to Sweden" strikes similarities with my family and some resemblance with my experiences and exposure to Swedish culture. Quite recognizable are the traditions and values my mom strived to instill in my brother and me.  

One aspect of Swedish culture depicted in the show that I can relate to are their Swedish sit-down meals. Growing up as a child, I was always expected to be home at a certain time for homemade sit-down dinners with my whole family. Many of my American friends couldn't relate to this, as they were fed in front of the television, or ate their food at different times than the rest of their family. Over the years, I have grown to really appreciate being raised with those sit-down meals. I feel it's vital for families to come together at least once a day to converse and enjoy each others’ company over a dinner.

Despite some accurate portrayals of the country, in many other ways  “Welcome to Sweden” paints a false image of what life and reality is like in Sweden. Unfortunately, many viewers forget, or perhaps don't know, that entertainment media is portrayed in ways that are meant to be, well, entertaining, rather than giving you an ethnographic exposure to the way things truly are in another culture. 

For example, as my boyfriend and I first began watching the show together, he told me he could never move to Sweden if this is what it is like there. Saddened and offended, I quickly explained that of course it's not entirely like this, just as many tv shows such as "The OC," or "Laguna Beach" attribute things to California that don't hold true in reality. I was particularly not fond of how the writers over-exaggerate on how "cold or unwelcoming" Swedes can be towards strangers or people from another culture. For example, from day one, Emma's mother makes it clear that she is not keen of Bruce and criticizes his decision to move to Sweden by being explicitly rude and stating, “You have no friends, you don't speak the language, and you don't have a job.”  My father pointed out from his experiences visiting Sweden that if you're part of the family, they will welcome you with open arms. On the other hand, if you're out on your own as a tourist, Swedes tend to rub off as not the most personable or approachable, but also not rude. 

In another scene Bruce was trying to say hi to a neighbor, who childishly almost ran away from him to avoid social interaction. Other Americans I know watching the show thought that was absolutely absurd and were put off by that situation. 

The show opens with the rural setting of Emma's parents summer house, and much of the first few episodes are generated around it. This gives viewers such as my American boyfriend, who loves big cities, a false image of Sweden as a less-sophisticated, folksy place with not a lot going on. We can all agree that summer houses in the countryside are a beautiful part of Sweden. However, as many Americans who have never been to Sweden watch the show, first impressions of a different country are likely to stick with them. Isolated country living combined with an impression of Swedish people as very unwelcoming and judgmental, along with the quirky, "out-there" personalities played by some of the Swedish actors rubbed my boyfriend in all the wrong ways, which sparked his comment to me about never being able to move there.  

Much of the world looks up to Sweden as an ultra-sophisticated, advanced country with a highly desirable culture, but in my opinion that perspective of Sweden was not accurately portrayed in the first episodes of the television show. The naive, silly writing in “Welcome to Sweden” does little to show American viewers what they can expect from a visit.

My father experienced a similar scenario to the plot of this show on his first visit to Sweden in 1983, when he traveled with his fiancee, my mom, to get married in her home town, Malmo, with  her family and friends attending. His one-word summation of his first Swedish trip was “SPECTACULAR”. Everyone was welcoming, with many life-long friendships established. He described the society, culture, and social interactions he experienced as “far advanced” over American culture.

Like Bruce, my dad has many colorful anecdotes about his attempts to communicate with Swedes who spoke little English; some are hilarious! That was in 1983, when some of the elderly knew little English. Unlike the show's portrayal of Emma's father, everyone nowadays in Sweden speaks fluent English.

All in all, what I thought would be a good opportunity to showcase the virtues of Sweden and its culture turned out to be an unrealistic television show that often makes fun of Swedes. I hope future episodes try to get it right, giving viewers a more accurate depiction of what life is like in Sweden.


Written by: Vanessa Wonn, Young Professional member at SACC-LA

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